"Mr. Cheng, I only just learned the prisoner's name is Qin Kai."
"When I entered the interrogation room the day before yesterday, he was already severely injured and unconscious."
"When I was setting his bones, the pain woke him for a moment, but he just cried out and wailed the entire time. Once I finished, the pain made him pass out again. I never had a chance to speak with him."
'His mind raced.' Adopting an honest and earnest expression, Chen Cheng replied.
Liu Yunfeng had previously reminded him that Qin Kai's case had wide-reaching implications. Even people like Jiang Cheng and Li Tao had been inexplicably transferred because of it. Chen Cheng was just an insignificant Little Prison Guard, so naturally, he had to distance himself from it.
There was even less reason to voluntarily mention the one hundred and fifty taels of silver Qin Kai had promised, which would only arouse Cheng Rui's suspicions.
"In that case, you can go about your business," Cheng Rui said, waving his hand casually.
"Yes, sir." Chen Cheng left the duty office, returned to his post to continue his watch, and silently resumed his Iron Armor Skill Cultivation.
Shortly after he left, a newly arrived Prison Guard entered the duty office and whispered in Cheng Rui's ear, "Mr. Cheng, Chen Cheng was on leave yesterday. As soon as he entered the Prison today, he went straight to his post. Nothing unusual, and he hasn't asked anyone about Qin Kai."
"I also investigated. He's always been honest and dutiful. He was previously deceived by a prisoner on death row, Master Xiu Chen, with a fake Iron Armor Skill Secret Manual. He injured himself by practicing it recklessly."
"After that, he held a grudge against Master Xiu Chen and constantly retaliated, which is how he earned the name Fierce Ah Cheng."
"Oh? It seems this Chen Cheng holds a grudge!" Cheng Rui said with a half-smile. "In that case, it looks like he really doesn't know anything about Qin Kai's situation."
"By the way, keep an eye on him for the next few days. If he makes any strange moves, inform me immediately."
After speaking, Cheng Rui left the Prison and headed straight for the City Guard Office.
...
Chen Cheng returned to his post and shut out the world, single-mindedly cultivating the Iron Armor Skill.
By the end of the day, his Iron Armor Skill progress was (8/100).
His Cultivation Progress was much faster than before; he could even feel his strength increasing.
His cultivation was so rapid for two reasons. First, the Iron Armor Skill Cultivation Technique was now corrected and complete, free from its previous Incompleteness, allowing it to circulate with extreme smoothness. Second, he had been eating a lot of meat recently, making his qi and blood abundant.
Chen Cheng had carefully calculated. The Iron Armor Skill incantations Master Xiu Chen had given him, including the final part he claimed was his most prized secret, only added up to about fifty percent of the complete version.
The remaining fifty percent of the Cultivation Technique's incantations had been completed by Chen Cheng through his Cultivation, corrected by the panel.
In other words, it was very likely that Master Xiu Chen didn't have the complete incantations for the Iron Armor Skill Cultivation Technique.
For this reason, Chen Cheng didn't bother Master Xiu Chen for the entire day.
Of course, even if Chen Cheng had nothing better to do, he wouldn't have considered going near the death row cells. The new Prison Chief, Cheng Rui, had moved Qin Kai there and assigned several of his trusted Prison Guards to stand watch, forbidding any unauthorized personnel from approaching.
Fearing Qin Kai might die from his severe injuries, Cheng Rui even hired a physician to treat him at regular intervals.
What Chen Cheng needed to do now was stay far away from Qin Kai, avoid all potential dangers, lay low, and quietly be an insignificant nobody. He would make further plans once his Iron Armor Skill was accomplished.
For the next few days, Chen Cheng dutifully worked his shifts at the Prison, cultivating the Iron Armor Skill.
After his shift, he would occasionally stop by the market on his way home to buy some meat, rice, flour, and oil. He and Mu Xiaowan ate and drank well to build up their bodies.
Qin Kai's injuries were extremely severe and wouldn't heal anytime soon. He seemed to have reached some sort of agreement with Cheng Rui, as not only was he not being harshly interrogated, he was even receiving preferential treatment.
Cheng Rui ordered the Prison Guards to buy food and wine from a nearby restaurant, serving him good food and fine wine daily with great care.
「A few more days passed.」
Chen Cheng discovered something incredible.
The amount of food and wine being sent to the death row cells had increased. After some inquiries, he found out that the extra portion was actually for Master Xiu Chen.
This discovery greatly shocked Chen Cheng. A sense of crisis grew within him, a fear that Master Xiu Chen would eventually bribe Cheng Rui and successfully escape the Prison.
Although the possibility was low, it couldn't be ruled out.
Even though Master Xiu Chen was only a Skin Grinding Realm Martial Artist, his strength was formidable, far beyond that of his peers. It was said that to capture him, they had to dispatch a Chief Constable at the Muscle Strengthening Realm, three Chief Constables at the Skin Grinding Realm, and a host of constables.
Even so, two of the Chief Constables suffered serious injuries during the arrest.
As for the crimes Master Xiu Chen had committed, the higher-ups were extremely tight-lipped and never leaked any information. Forget ordinary Prison Guards; even the former Prison Chief, Jiang Cheng, had vaguely mentioned that he was unaware of what Master Xiu Chen had done.
However, Chen Cheng's worries soon vanished.
Cheng Rui only sent good food and wine to Master Xiu Chen for five days before ignoring him again.
After that, Cheng Rui began to patrol the prison cells more frequently. He seemed unable to sit still, making his rounds four or five times every hour.
When he patrolled, his expression was stern and his posture was ramrod straight, but his steps were slow. He walked with an extremely strange posture, deliberately keeping his legs spread apart as if there were something between his thighs.
With the Prison Chief patrolling the cells so diligently, it was naturally the Prison Guards who suffered. Within a few days, the guards in the South City District Prison were all groaning in private, every one of them calling him Madman Cheng!
If he weren't a madman, what kind of Prison Chief would be so dedicated to his duties? Was that meager monthly salary worth working himself to death? Wasn't he afraid of shortening his lifespan from overwork?
Of course, Chen Cheng was the sole exception and never uttered a single word of judgment.
He noticed that the round object in the inner pocket of Cheng Rui's trouser leg, which was supposedly a Money Bag, held a hidden secret.
In this world, there were many places to keep a Money Bag: the inner lining of one's robes, the lining of one's sleeves, the inside of a belt, and so on. While sewing it into an inner pocket on the trouser leg like Cheng Rui was less common, it wasn't unheard of.
However, the thing in Cheng Rui's inner trouser pocket wasn't a Money Bag at all—it was clearly an Iron Ball. Moreover, it was discreetly tied to his crotch with a thin string.
Master Xiu Chen had, after all, passed on that "ace-in-the-hole" portion of his incantations and Dharma Gate to Cheng Rui.
That scoundrel Cheng Rui was also practicing an incomplete version of the Iron Armor Skill. To be precise, it was the Iron Crotch Skill, which Master Xiu Chen had modified from the incomplete Iron Armor Skill Cultivation Technique. Or perhaps, it could be called the Great Root Skill.
'Knowing a great swindler like Master Xiu Chen, he must have told Cheng Rui that the Iron Armor Skill was omnipotent. If you're missing a hand, cultivate the Iron Leg Skill. If your leg is crippled, cultivate the Iron Arm Skill. And if your 'great root' isn't robust, then you cultivate the Iron Crotch Skill.'
As for whether this so-called Iron Crotch Skill could be successfully cultivated, at least Master Xiu Chen, that "peerless beauty," had succeeded. Back then, to win Chen Cheng's trust, Master Xiu Chen had even displayed the fruits of his cultivation.
'It was indeed quite magnificent!'
'To convince an old Jianghu veteran like Cheng Rui, Master Xiu Chen must have put on another demonstration for him.'
Possessing the complete Iron Armor Skill Cultivation Technique, Chen Cheng knew that cultivating the Iron Crotch Skill, an incomplete version of the Iron Armor Skill, would inevitably lead to partial disability or deformity.
Of course, he wasn't going to look for trouble by reminding Cheng Rui.
Cheng Rui hadn't sought out Chen Cheng again. He figured either Qin Kai hadn't mentioned the promise of one hundred and fifty taels of silver, or Qin Kai had just been making an empty promise to save his legs and had forgotten about it the moment he turned around.
「More than half a month passed.」
On this day, Chen Cheng got off his shift at the Prison, went to the market to buy half a pork knuckle, and then returned home.
"Brother Cheng, why are you being so extravagant again?"
Chen Cheng brought meat home every few days, and although Mu Xiaowan was used to it, she couldn't help but say something.
Half a pork knuckle weighed over two pounds. It must have cost sixty or seventy cents. According to the Chen Family's recent habits, they would finish it within two or three days.
Spending money so freely was truly too extravagant.
Chen Cheng gently caressed Mu Xiaowan's cheek and said with a soft smile, "I'm happy today, so let's celebrate. We'll braise this entire half of the pork knuckle."
"Eat half a pork knuckle in one meal?" Mu Xiaowan's eyes widened in shock, her mouth agape.
With such extravagance, how was the Chen Family supposed to get by?